BUSINESS executive Gloria Serobe scooped the Lifetime Achiever Award at the 4th annual SA Premier Business awards this week.
Minister of Trade and Industry Rob Davies bestowed the award on Serobe, executive director of Wiphold and chief executive of Wipcapital, at the award ceremony hosted at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg on Tuesday.
Serobe has more than 30 years of experience in leading public and private domestic and multinational institutions.
The annual South African Premier Business Awards, held under the theme “Rewarding Business Excellence” celebrates national corporate excellence and success.
Davies said: "Her efforts over three decades aimed at transforming the national socio-economic fabric culminated in her establishing Women’s Investment Portfolio Holdings Limited (Wiphold, an investment and operating company owned and managed entirely by black women.
"South Africans like Ms Serobe inspire the nation that when excellence is a way of life, success is assured.”
Davies also announced the winners of each category saying they are “playing their part in building a competitive national commercial sector, which contributes to the country’s growth and development objectives.”
Department of trade and Industry spokesman Sidwell Medupe said Serobe has always reached for the glass ceiling, aiming to shatter it for herself and women after her.
"She has a B Comm degree from the University of Transkei (now Walter Sisulu University) and an MBA from Rutgers University in the US."
"Serobe is currently an executive director of Wiphold and CEO of Wipcapital.”
The winners in some of the other categories are: Aerosud Aviation for the Manufacturer Award, Solar Capital for the Investor of the Year Award, Saab Grintek Defence for the Exporter Award, Thata uBeke Manufacturing for the Black Industrialist Award, Nestlé South Africa and Bidvest Protea Coin for the Play Your Part Award, Ekurhuleni Artisans and Skills Training for the Proudly South African Award, Computers 4 Kids and AM Group were joint recipients of the SMME Award
Icebolethu Group received the Women Owned Award and Baclan Energy trading as E-Waste Africa received the Young Entrepreneur award.
The awards are jointly hosted by the Department of Trade and Industry, Brand South Africa and Proudly South African. Tsogo Sun, Old Mutual and the Johannesburg Stock Exchange are sponsors.